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AsiaSat 1

Hughes' Space and Communications Group built three Hughes HS-376 model satellites, designated Westar 4, 5 and 6, for Western Union Telegraph Company. These new
spacecraft stand 21.6 feet tall in operation and carry 24 C-band transponders, each of
which can accommodate 2400 telephone calls or one color TV channel.

Westar 6 was launched from the space shuttle in February
1984. Its PAM-D misfired, however, and the satellite
was stranded in a useless low orbit. It was retrieved by shuttle astronauts in November
1984, and Hughes was contracted to refurbish it. Westar 6 was
eventually sold to the AsiaSat consortium and renamed AsiaSat 1. The spacecraft was
successfully relaunched on 7 April 1990, on board a CZ-3
rocket, and now provides telecommunications services to a number of Asian nations.

The HS-376 series of spacecraft uses two
telescoping cylindrical solar panels and a folding antenna for compactness during launch.
Once the satellite is in synchronous orbit 22,300 miles above the equator, the antenna is
erected and the outer solar panel extended, more than doubling the spacecraft's height and
power output.

The spacecraft are 7.2 feet wide. They are 9 feet high in the stowed position, and with
the 6-foot wide antenna erect and the aft solar panel deployed, they stand 21.6 feet high.
Each weighs 1280 pounds at beginning of life in orbit. Stationkeeping is provided by four
thrusters using 313 pounds of hydrazine propellant. The K-7 solar cells generate 935 Watts
at beginning of life, and two nickel-cadmium batteries furnish full power during an
eclipse.

The satellites are stabilized by spinning at 50 rpm. Both the communications antenna
and electronics are despun with respect to the earth and achieve a pointing accuracy of
better than 0.05 degrees. In synchronous orbit, the satellite's velocity maintains it in a
fixed position relative to the earth, thereby ensuring continuity of communications
services.